The Ex-Perfectionist

Dreeeeam. Dream. Dream. Dream.

Posted on May 20, 2011 by theexperfectionist

“Our truest life is when we are in dreams awake.” – Henry David Thoreau

My unconscious dreams

I mostly dream about normal things. You know: hiding from Zombies in underground layers; trying to outrun tornados to save my family; and dunking Oreos in milk. Typical, right?

Well, a recent dream turned out to be not so typical. And I didn’t like it.

I’m at Chang’s Mongolian Grill with a friend, Brittany. Before ending up at Chang’s I tried to get Brittany to go to the Black Bear Dinner with me so we could eat ungodly amounts of fried American food and dip it all in blue cheese dressing (together – because we’d both kill to do that right now). However, after a few unfortunate events such as our baby-blue antique, convertible breaking down, and getting stuck in a room with a bunch of old youth group members, we were unable to go. The universe was clearly working against us. Continue reading →

Posted in Balancing Life, Writing

Eat More Seaweed

Posted on May 19, 2011 by theexperfectionist

My step-sister once tricked me into believing the dried seaweed she held in her hand was good. Even though it happened about 17 years ago I still distinctly remember it being one of the most revolting things I have ever allowed to cross my lips. Since then my taste for seaweed has slowly developed, as has my love for sushi (I am still totally a sushi beginner). I’d only eat sushi that was not wrapped in seaweed, but instead only had a fine inside layer.

About a year ago I found myself at an Uwajimaya in Seattle (It’s like the Asian food Mecca). I sampled a pretzle stick wrapped in dried seaweed. Much to my suprise I liked it. This past weekend after my yoga teacher training, I ordered a couple rolls from “I Love Sushi” in Beaverton. I am pretty sure the avocado rolls, wrapped in thick seaweed, may have been the best sushi/seaweed I’ve had. I am amazed at how much I now like the stuff.

This aquatic plant has some amazing nutritional values as well.

From oceanvegetables.com:

“Seaweed is the secret to super nutrition

Ocean vegetables are getting more and more in demand today mainly due to their many health benefits, and not just because sushi bars have mushroomed in our midst!

Ocean vegetables are one of Nature’s richest sources of vegetable protein.
Ocean vegetables provide full concentrations of beta-carotene, chlorophyll, enzymes, amino acids, and fiber.
Ounce for ounce, along with herbs, they are higher in vitamins and minerals than any other food.
Ocean vegetables are considered the most nutritionally dense plants available in the planet!”

It is also high in iodine, which is like a super-nutrient for thyroid function. I may be hooked.

Any thoughts? Like, love, hate seaweed or sushi?

–Shawnee, The Ex-Perfectionist

Posted in Healthy Eating

Girls they wanna have fu-un

Posted on May 18, 2011 by theexperfectionist

The experts say resting, relaxing, eating the right foods, and moderate exercise are key to the healing process for Hashimoto’s/Hypothyroidism. But they left off spending time with my besties, singing my heart out at the VoiceBox and eating fabulous Japanese cuisine. It’s totally stress relieving.

I am pretty sure every time I shook the tambourine stress-fighting endorphins were released.

Ok, so I was totally wiped out for about three days after this. It was so worth it.

–Shawnee, The Ex-Perfectionist

Posted in Balancing Life, Healthy Eating | 1 Comment

Three Meal Ideas

Posted on May 17, 2011 by theexperfectionist

This post is brought to you by I-haven’t-posted-a-food-blog-in-a-month Tuesday.

A month ago…ok may be two months ago, foodbuzz sent me several Tostitos All Natural Dip Creations. I tried them, liked them and created a few meals with them.

Below is Ranchy, Bacony Chicken bake. I didn’t write down the recipe. Basic idea: mix ranch packet with sour cream add a generous handful of chopped cilantro and bacon. Smother chicken. Turned out pretty good. The sauce ended up being a little runny. It was good mixed with rice though.

Quesadilla with cheese, black beans, spinach and guacamole from fresh avocados and the guacamole mix.

More chicken backed with the guacamole seasoning. Served with spanish quinoa and veggies.

Anyone try these dip creations? I probably won’t purchase these as they still contained maltodextrin, even though they are “all natural.”

–Shawnee, The Ex-Perfectionist

Posted in Healthy Eating, Recipes | 2 Comments

Stumble of the Week and Award Winners

Posted on May 6, 2011 by theexperfectionist

I absolutely love StumbleUpon. Aside from caffeine, it’s probably the most addicting thing I’ve come across. Have you been? Do you know how it works? Set up a profile based off of your interests and click Stumble, you’ll come across the best websites and blogs.

Here are my favorite stumbles this week: Continue reading →

Posted in Crafty Chic, Writing | 5 Comments

May the 4th be with you: It’s with me.

Posted on May 4, 2011 by theexperfectionist

Today is my birthday. I am twenty and seven years. Since my blogging beginning, I have posted my yearly goals along with what I acheived the year prior. See last year’s post: http://experfectionist.blogspot.com/2010/05/counting-down-to-re-launch.html.

Here are last years goals along with what I actually accomplished:

-Train for a 10k

(I stopped running because my hips began to hurt. But I now have some answers to my health questions, one of them being “Why the H can’t I lose weight?”

-Study for and pass the test to be a Certified Group Exercise Teacher
-Increase my Yoga practice for entrance into Yoga Teacher training

(The above two goals go together. I started to study for Group Certification. I had to stop because I actually started yoga teacher training and I couldn’t handle the homework for both. I love yoga teacher training!)

-Plan my meals and my days

(I I planned my meals for a good portion of the year. But as my health started getting worse and I started figuring out what foods I could and could not eat, my interest in food has faded)

-Stay connected with friends and family

(I am still working on this)

-Write and publish a couple more articles

(I did a Foodbuzz 24x24x24, it was a paid gig. That’s all for writing gigs. Though, I am writing a children’s book with my best friend and sister, who is illustrating. Our goal is to have the rough draft finished by the end of this summer and begin the search for agents. I also have an outline for two novels floating around my think tank.)

-Come out of the blogging closet (yes, only a select few of my friends and family know I’m a blogger)

(I totally came out.)

This year’s goals: Continue reading →

Posted in Balancing Life | 2 Comments